Molly Selvin of the Los Angeles Times reports that a jury sitting in Los Angeles federal court awarded $2,500,000 to current and former employees of the Chinese Daily News, the largest Chinese-language newspaper in the United States, for violations of state and federal labor laws. The jury reportedly found that the newspaper failed to pay its employees overtime, or to allow meal and rest periods. Ms. Selvin notes that the class action lawsuit is “part of a wave of litigation that has produced multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts in recent years.” These class action suits typically allege that the employer has misclassified employees “giving them professional or managerial-like job titles to avoid paying overtime.”

Molly Selvin’s article, entitled “Newspaper Staff Wins Labor Suit,” may be found in the Business Section of the January 13, 2007 edition of the Los Angeles Times.

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About the Author

Michael J. Hassen

Michael J. Hassen's litigation practice spans almost 30 years and emphasizes general business and commercial litigation, including class action defense and unfair business practice representative actions (section 17200).

He represents lenders in all facets of lender litigation, ranging from class actions and unfair business practices based on alleged "predatory" lending and RESPA violations or alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to claims alleging elder abuse or challenging the validity or priority of liens.

Michael also has significant experience in business torts such as misappropriation of trade secrets and raiding of corporate employees, ADA claims, and all phases of commercial and real estate finance, construction finance and construction defect claims.

He is experienced in appellate matters, having had primary responsibility for preparing more than 100 appellate briefs.